SpaceX's $75 billion IPO set to mint 4,400 millionaires and test a $1.77 trillion valuation

The largest IPO in history

SpaceX is preparing to raise $75 billion through an initial public offering, pricing 555.6 million shares at $135 each. The company values itself at $1.75 trillion to $1.8 trillion, depending on the source, with The New York Times reporting a target valuation of $1.77 trillion. Goldman Sachs is the lead underwriter, followed by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase. Pricing is expected after market close on Wednesday, with shares set to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on Thursday or Friday. The offering is massively oversubscribed, with Bloomberg reporting demand for more than four times the available shares.

One could not ask for a better friend.

A wave of employee millionaires

More than 4,400 current and former SpaceX employees are expected to become millionaires when the company goes public, according to an analysis by Hill.com. Of those, approximately 400 are projected to hold stakes worth $100 million or more. The wealth creation extends beyond engineers and executives to hourly blue-collar workers, including cooks, welders, and cafeteria staff, who received stock options as part of their compensation. Options granted in 2025 carried exercise prices of $37 and $42.40 per share, meaning employees holding those grants will see their paper gains multiply several times at the $135 listing price.

The magnitude of this has been ridiculous.

Concentration and windfall management

For some employees, the windfall comes with concentration risk. One former employee holds a $21.4 million stake representing 93% of his household's investable net worth. A group of more than 100 current and former employees created a low-fee wealth management arrangement with advisory firm Choreo, representing combined potential wealth of between $1 billion and $5 billion, formed specifically to prepare for the post-IPO liquidity event. The IPO is also expected to accelerate a housing boom in South Texas.

The Gracias stake

Antonio Gracias and his private equity firm, Valor Equity Partners, control a $65 billion stake in SpaceX at the target valuation, according to calculations by The New York Times. Valor is the second-biggest disclosed shareholder after Mr. Musk. The IPO filing required a 390-word footnote to identify 30 separate Valor- and Gracias-affiliated entities that control 503 million shares, totaling about 3.7 percent of the company. Valor invested $400 million to $500 million in SpaceX as of 2021, according to estimates Mr. Gracias gave in depositions related to Mr. Musk's Tesla pay package.

Index inclusion and market debate

The listing has ignited a debate over whether index providers should speed up the addition of newly listed large companies and how fast-tracking them would affect 401(k) plans and broader equity performance. Meanwhile, Warburg Pincus CEO Jeffrey Perlman called the IPO market "broken" even amid giant offerings from SpaceX, Anthropic PBC, and OpenAI. Some analysts question the valuation given SpaceX's lack of profit and governance concerns tied to Mr. Musk's almost untouchable status within the company.

It's uncommon to have 400 people at that threshold. It speaks to the enormous wealth that's being created.